The Maltese Falcon (1931)

I just watched this so here's a review....

First of all, this is the original, 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon. It does not star Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, and Mary Astor. This film stars Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade and Bebe Daniels as Ruth Wonderly. To avoid confusion with the 1941 version, this is sometimes called Dangerous Female.

Anyways. I'll pretend like I haven't seen the other version, but that's about impossible.

The plot of this film is based on the book The Maltese Falcon which I have not read. Supposedly this film, and the 1941 version, follow the plot of the book closely. The plot here is quite excellent although I need not describe it.

As for the acting, it wasn't too bad. Still, nothing felt all that great either. It just kind of felt mediocre. I couldn't help but think back to the 1941 version. Ricardo Cortez is no Humphrey Bogart, whoever plays Cairo is no Peter Lorre and whoever plays Gutman (the fat man) is no Sydney Greenstreet.

To make matters worse, the ending to this film was absolutely horrible (spoilers ahead). In the 1941 version Spade tells off Mrs. O'Shaughnessy (Mrs. Wonderly) and that's it. She's arrested and he kind of gets rid of her and looks pretty cool doing it. In this this film he visits her in prison and still seems to be in love with her and tells the people at the prison to look out for her and give her cigarettes, good food, and candy. He'll pick up the expenses.

The 1941 version ends with the ever-so-famous line "It's the stuff dreams are made of" while this ends with a horrible line saying send the bill to the D.A.'s office "I'll OK it".

As for a rating, this is a pre-code film so they could get away with pretty much whatever they wanted. There's a bathtub scene with a nude Bebe Daniels but nothing is shown. There's some hints at homosexuality and it's quite obvious Spade is sleeping with all kinds of women. Still, this isn't really anything all that offensive and I think a PG rating is suitable.

In summary, while this film wasn't terrible, if not for the 2nd remake nobody would even care about this film. If not for an absolutely brilliant film that is based on the same plot, there'd be no reason to go out of your way to watch this. If you loved the 1941 version, this is worth a watch but if you haven't seen that one, don't watch this first.

67/100
D+

UP NEXT: I don't know. I lied last time and if I guessed again I'd probably just lie again.